Merry Clayton

Merry Clayton was born on December 25, 1948 in the Gert Town neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, a fact that inspired her parents to name her after the holiday. Raised in the New Zion Baptist Church, she absorbed gospel traditions from her father, the Reverend A.G. Williams, Sr., while her mother Eva B. Clayton nurtured her budding love of music. At age fourteen, she entered the recording studio for the first time, duetting with Bobby Darin on “Who Can I Count On?” and quickly became a sought‑after backing vocalist. Throughout the 1960s she sang with Ray Charles’ Raelettes, contributed to Phil Ochs, Burt Bacharach, and even recorded a version of “The Shoop Shoop Song” before it became a pop hit. Her powerful, soulful timbre caught the attention of Mick Jagger, leading to the iconic, haunting duet on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” a performance she delivered while pregnant, only to suffer a miscarriage shortly afterward. Following the “Gimme Shelter” breakthrough, Clayton launched a solo career, issuing her self‑titled debut in 1970 and scoring a modest Billboard‑Hot‑100 entry with her own rendition of the song. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s she became the voice behind countless hits, from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” to Ringo Starr’s “Oh My My,” and she ventured into theater as the original Acid Queen in London’s production of The Who’s Tommy. Her gospel roots resurfaced in the mid‑80s with the group Brilliance, and she continued to lend her soaring backing vocals to film soundtracks such as Dirty Dancing and The Nude Bomb. In the 21st century, Merry’s contributions were celebrated in the Oscar‑winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, earning her a Grammy for Best Music Film. Despite a near‑fatal car crash in 2014 that forced the amputation of both knees, she released the reflective album Beautiful Scars in 2021, proving that her resilient spirit and unmistakable voice remain vital to American music history.